Taco Tuesday

Another Tuesday, another crock pot meal.

In my quest to please the hubs (um, not really), I let him select from two different recipes, and tonight he decided on Beef Carnitas. I pulled this one from a cookbook I rarely use, mostly because I forget I have it, but also because the recipes don't include specific portion sizes, which is annoying to me. In fact, a lot of recipes don't include specific portions, which I don't get - especially with the so-called healthier options.

Whatevs. I'm not really feeling my usual soap-boxey self tonight because I'm a little (lot) tired so let's get on to the good stuff.

Beef Carnitas
Source: Prevention Best Weight Loss Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 lb lean beef stew meat, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3/4 c. mild salsa (I use Newman's Own - low sodium!)
• 2 tbsp chopped chipotle chile peppers adobo sauce (I just used 2 tbsp of the sauce)
• salt/pepper (skip)
• 1 c. beef broth or water (used no-salt added beef broth)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low, 6-8 hours. Serve with desired toppings on tortillas. (I cooked mine on high for 4 hours.)

Yield: 6 servings (I had 4oz of the meat with a low calorie, low carb tortilla)
Per serving: 232 cals; 30g protein; 3g carb; 10.5g fat (4g sat); 452mg sodium

Reviews:
First and foremost, talk about easy! I made this when I got home from work - I usually have about 10-15 minutes tops before the kid gets home to throw something together - and this took a grand total of 2 minutes. Love it! I was a little worried this was going to be too spicy, as the adobo sauce tends to be on the hot side for our wimpy taste buds, but it could have used a bit more kick. Like a lot of crock pot recipes, this also resulted in a lot of useless liquid.

Ranking:
The house was a bit divided on this - the hubs gave it a solid three forks, and both the kid and I gave it two forks because it could have used a bit more flavor. However, the more time I spend dwelling over this fork situation, the more convinced I am that it IS three forks. NOT because I want to ever give the hubs the satisfaction of thinking he's right, but because it was super easy to put together, it was a nice, warm and hearty meal on a cold, nasty night, and who doesn't like tacos? Three Forks.

Crock pot-tastic

Turn Around

As you now know (assuming you are a faithful reader of said blog), the hubs has an aversion to vegetables. I usually try to force Meatless Monday on him, however, because our weeks are kind of screwed up for the next few months due to schedules, Meatless Monday isn't always going to happen. However, vegetables will continue to happen.

It is because of this weird issue with veggies that the hubs decided long ago that he did not like Chinese food of any kind, except for a random egg roll or fried rice. Which probs doesn't really count. He thinks that all Chinese food has way too many veggies for his liking. However, since I embarked on my clean eating adventure a few years back, I have discovered many stir-fry-type recipes that he has now embraced. One might even say that he no longer despises Chinese food. And while we won't be frequenting a Chinese restaurant anytime soon (the sodium!), I do take full credit for this turn around.

Oh - and that's not the only turn around happening here. How 'bout my Buckeyes and our new coach? Our sub par season will surely be a distant memory come next year. (You knew I'd weave in Ohio State somehow, right?)

Hoisin Pork Stir-Fry
Source: Weight Watchers Make It In Minutes, 2001

Ingredients:

• Rice
• 3/4 lbs boneless pork loin, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 c. broccoli florets
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1/4 c. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp honey

Directions:

• Cook rice.
• Combine the pork, sherry, soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat until nearly smoking. Add the broccoli and red pepper and stir-fry for 2 mins. Add the pork and stir-fry for 4 mins. Add the oj, hoisin sauce and honey, and cook until pork is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Yield: 4 servings (1 c. pork mixture, 1/2 c. rice)
Per serving: 313 cals; 6g total fat (2g sat); 54mg chols; 453mg sodium; 43g carbs; 22g protein

Reviews:
I thought this was a little sweet for my taste - and although the recipe says that it is under 500mg sodium/serving, I kind of feel all sodium-bloaty right now. In case you are wondering, I also feel pretty tired right now too. Anywho, I did like how the broccoli and red pepper turned out. The boys both enjoyed it - the kid finished pretty much his entire serving, and there are plenty of leftovers.

Ranking:
Two Forks (sodium bloat!)

Will sweat out the sodium at spinning tomorrow 5:30a!

T-Day Clean Up

Hey peeps!

Hope you had a fabu turkey day. I used to say "gobble gobble," but after half-watching the Thanksgiving episode of Suburgatory, where they all ran around and said "gobble gobble" I feel kind of stupid saying it, so T-day or some variation of it will now have to suffice.

Anyway, after the food fest and resulting leftover fest, I decided to clean up all of our acts this week with some healthy fare that even my trainer will approve (hopefully). Protein? Check. Healthy portions? Check. Clean? Check. Delish? We'll have to play that one by ear.

Walnut and Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken
Source: Cooking Light, June 2010

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. low-fat buttermilk
• 2 tbsp dijon
• 4 (6-oz) chicken cutlets
• 1/3 c. panko
• 1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp parm
• 3/4 tsp minced rosemary
• salt, pepper, cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Combine buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.
• Heat a small skillet over med-high heat. Add panko to pan and cook 3 mins or until golden, stirring frequently (skipped this step). Combine panko, nuts and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and dredge in panko mixture.
• Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken on rack; coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake until done.

Yield: 4 servings (1 cutlet)
Per serving: 287 cals; 9.4g fat (1.6g sat, 1.6g mono, 5.1g poly); 42.7g protein; 101mg chol; 379mg sodium; 66mg calc.

Reviews:
Although I don't think the wire-rack method really added anything (except kind of a mess), the chicken turned out really well. This is not a particularly unique recipe - I've made variations of this before, and I'm sure I'll make variations of it again. No matter - we all liked it, and that's what counts.

Ranking:
Three Forks

Look! No rice-y side tonight!

T-Day, Part 2

I'm tired. We had too much food and now I'm in a partial turkey coma. It's my fault - I can't edit myself.

Here's the rest of the meal I prepared (continuation from yesterday):

• Maple-Glazed Meatballs, Slow Cooker Recipe Collection, 2007
• Crunchy Chickpeas with Chili seasoning, 500 Low Sodium Recipes (Dick Logue) (the seasoning)
• Pepperoni Pizza Puffs, not sure of source - maybe Rachael Ray?
• Cheese 'n Ham Spirals: Kraft Food & Family, Winter 2007
• Roast Turkey Breast with Rosemary-Mustard Butter, Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving 1997
• Cornbread Stuffing, Betty Crocker Thanksgiving 2006
• Mini Sweet Potato Souffles, People Holiday Entertaining 2011
• Creamy Mac 'n' Cheese, Taste of Home Comfort Diet Food 2008

Please note: My family also contributed a lot of dishes (apps, sides and dessert) - so the lists from yesterday and today only show what I actually prepared, in the spirit of the blog.

Hope you and yours had a great day/night!

T-Day, Part One

About 15 years ago, when my now-hubs and I moved in together, being young and oh-so-in love, I didn't want to be apart for Thanksgiving (his family lives about four hours from mine). So, I offered to host both families in our little apartment. Completely out of selfish reasons! And while we have moved on to something just a tad bigger than two bedrooms, the hosting gig has stuck. Oh - and so has the hubs. Ha ha ha.

I kind of have this holiday down to a science. I start planning the menu about two weeks in advance, assign various guests their contributions, and do all of my shopping the Sunday before. I also have all sorts of lists - lists of menus, prep schedules, serving dishes to use, etc.

Soooo, today I was scheduled to make several things for tomorrow's main event. I am not going to write out all of the recipes because, ummm, I don't want to. If you want one, contact me. I am also not going to add my typical stellar images because I kind of forgot to take pictures. AND, these are not all clean and healthy and low fat/cal/whatever recipes, even though I still try to select better ingredients when possible. It is Thanksgiving, after all. A celebration of gluttony! Plus, I think my family would freak if I tried to force some sort of low-sodium veggie concoction down their throats instead of 'taters and stuffing.

Of course, I need to add a little bit of fun to tonight's post. Therefore, since today's big focus was dessert, here's a little ditty for you:

Yes - there is a Beatles song for every thing.

Today's list:

• Chocolate Truffle Pie: Betty Crocker Indulgent Desserts, Spring 2007
• Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins: Everyday Food (Martha Stewart), November 2010
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake: Duncan Hines Baking With Love, 1999
• Honey-Spiced Cranberry Sauce: Weight Watchers Magazine, Nov-Dec 2011
• Prep-Ahead Mashed Potatoes: Kraft Food & Family, Holiday 2006

I also made corn bread for corn bread stuffing tomorrow, but will provide specifics upon completion.

Happy night before T-Day... more tomorrow.

Mous-sa-wha?

You know when you've heard of dishes, seen recipes for them along the way, but never fully explored what they actually might be? Well, that's the relationship I've had with moussaka for all these years.

For those who were in the dark like me, moussaka is a traditional Greek casserole with layers of beef and eggplant.

Speaking of eggplant... I love it. I especially love eggplant parm, and have countless variations just waiting to be unleashed. However, because the boys have an aversion to many vegetable-based dishes, I have held off until tonight. That's because my new Biggest Loser cookbook promised a faster, easier and lighter version of this typically heavy dish. It's also because I was in the mood to try this dish, so the boys were just going to have to deal.
And yes - I did write new cookbook. Not really a full-on cookbook, btw - just one of those little grocery store mini-books that scream "buy me!" with loads of pretty pictures as I was patiently in line to check out.

Moussaka
Source: The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Planner/Prevention Guide, Fall 2011

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 3/4 c. white wine (special shout out to K for coming through in the clutch!)
• 15oz. low-sodium tomato sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp canola
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1-1/2 c. 1 percent milk
• 3/4 c. vegetable broth (used no-salt added)
• 1/2 c. chopped scallions (skipped - forgot to buy)
• 3/4 c. sundried tomatoes (skipped - bought smoked by accident)
• 1 eggplant, halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1/3 c. grated parm

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over med-high heat. Add turkey and onion. Cook 5 mins. Add wine, tomato sauce, oregano, nutmeg, cinnamon and honey. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 mins or until thickened and almost dry.
• Heat canola oil in saucepan over med heat. Whisk in flour. Cook 1-2 mins, whisking constantly. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Add milk and broth. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in scallions and tomatoes.
• Coat 13x9 dish with spray. Spread half of eggplant in bottom of dish. Pour turkey mixture on top of eggplant. Top with remaining eggplant. Press down lightly.
• Pour milk mixture over eggplant. Top with parm cheese. Bake 1 hour, or until golden and bubbling. Let stand 10 mins before serving.

Yield: 8 servings
Per serving: 270 cals; 23g protein; 23g carb; 5g fiber; 9g fat (2g sat); 290mg sodium

Earlier in the day, I also attempted another lentil soup - this one courtesy of Runner's World. I'm not going to include the recipe because it basically turned out like the other lentil soup I made - a big pile of semi-cooked lentils and mushed black beans. Of course, I ate it because I love lentils and beans, but it wasn't exactly soup-like. Nor was it particularly appealing to my favorite, non-lentil loving East Coast house guest. (Shout out time!) Maybe Runner's World should stick to running?

Reviews:
For someone who has claimed for years and years that he doesn't like eggplant, the hubs managed to be the president of the clean plate club tonight. The flavor was excellent with this and the eggplant was fork-tender. The kid, of course, was not a fan of the eggplant - despite my effort to hide it by cutting it into small pieces and blend it in with the meat. My only issues with this meal? It still took about an hour to prepare, and then another hour to bake, and the Biggest Loser doesn't include specific portion sizes! WTF?

The happy moral of this story? I see lots of eggplant dishes in our future!

Ranking:
Three Forks

We've opened up the eggplant floodgates

All Done!

All Done!

Not only is the baby learning the sign for all done at school (a super-fun touchdown sign!), but we are now at the end of the first-ever GBRC Quick Fire Challenge! I bet The Beatles have something to say about that...

(Please note, I do not endorse the fact that many of these images have absolutely no association with the time frame in which this song was recorded. Just so you know. You should also note the excellent guitar work in this song. The three solos are amazing. Really.)

On to tonight's contender - a selection from Cooking Light's "Super Fast 20 Minute Cooking" feature (a regular feature in the magazine, btw).

Sloppy Joe Sliders
Source: Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:

• 1 large carrot
• 10 oz. lean ground beef
• 3/4 c. pre-chopped onion (just chopped my own)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper (skip)
• 1/4 c. ketchup
• 1 tbsp Dijon
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (used no-salt added)
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 8oz no-salt added tomato sauce
• Slider buns

Directions:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Grate carrot/ Add carrot, beef and onion to pan, cook until beef is browned. Add garlic powder and chili powder, cook 1 minute.
• Combine remaining ingredients (except for buns, obvs) in a bowl and add to pan, stirring to coat beef mixture. Simmer for 5 mins or until thickened.

Yield: 4 (2 sliders - 2 slider buns with 1/4 c. beef mixture on each bun)
Per serving: 373 cals; 10g fat (3.6g sat; 3.5g mono; 2.3g poly); 23.1g protein; 52.2g carbs; 38mg carb; 736mg sodium (yikes!)

Reviews:
The only grousing at tonight's table was the hubs when the kid tried to slip him a piece of broccoli (we also had wild rice). The slider buns were perfectly sized for the kid, and he devoured almost his entire portion. I thought the flavor was delish. However, this did take me a bit longer than 20 mins only because in my typical fashion, I did not read the directions ahead of time. However, this meal is a great option for a busy weeknight - especially since all of the ingredients are pantry staples.

Ranking:
Four Forks - yum!

Touchdown broccoli!